The First World War Armistice: Perspective at 100 Years

The shooting in the first world war finally ended 100 years ago November 11. But did the war ever really end? Was anything resolved? So much of today’s world, from the mess of the Middle East to the power of martial fervor, there is much to learn from the terribly flawed armistice. Guest on this show Adam Hochschild, author of To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion 1914-1918 looks at: why did Wilson enter the war, what if the Germans had won, what was the British desire for war with Germany, the effects on today’s Middle East. Hochschild argues that, though little known, the American clampdown on freedoms in the late 19 teens was worse than McCarthyism. The power of propaganda then and now. What the winners did which paved the way for the rise of a Hitler. Instead of “making the world safe for democracy,” democracy was actually crushed. Self Determination, as touted by Woodrow Wilson, was a ruse. Did the war ever really end? Listen in and decide for yourself.